Inevitable Conversations

Let's build a society. Let's build a world where 60% of the people do not have enough money to eat and shelter themselves. Then give enough money to 2% of the people to buy entire countries, and do nothing to make them give back to the world.

Now lets deny everyone basic human healthcare, mental and physical. Let's stigmatize mental illness, so even if they can get around our financial hurdles to healthcare, they will be ashamed to ask for help. Now let's add a whole bunch of guns to the mix.

What could possibly go wrong?

What?

Oh.

Ok. How do we fix it?

I don't want to talk about gun control. The reason for that is, EVERYTHING above leads to these terrible tragedies. Until we deal with ALL of it, they will still happen. We can lessen them by dealing with portions of it. So personally I want to deal with the things that take the least time.

Controlling the guns, filtering them out of society will take decades. Gun restrictions, licences  and waiting periods will only scratch the surface. Then we have to get the guns that are already out there. This can be done, but again, it will take decades. Let's get started, but lets work on something we can do now.

Destigmatizing mental illness will take generations. I don't even really know how it's done, but changing social beliefs is rarely done within one generation. We are still fostering out racism, and we've been working on it for hundreds of years.

Changing health care will take about a year. A few weeks to write and pass complicated legislation, and several months to put all the right clinics, doctors in place, and to remove the entrenched insurance companies out of the picture. It could be done quickly and efficiently. This needs to start NOW.

Or maybe in 30 minutes.

Changing poverty in the US could begin by passing legislation in less than 30 minutes, because it's already written, and it's simple. And it could be enacted in two months. Raise minimum wage to $25.00 an hour. Tax the richest people 90% like the pre-Reagen days. We have tons and tons and tons of money in this country. Giving it to people who are in desperate need would go well on it's way to putting us on the right track, and it's so so easy.

And we have politicians in place that care, and want these things to happen. Bernie Sanders, Alan Grayson, Elizabeth Warren, Brandon Dillon, John Yarmuth, and some others. So getting people into power who want to help is not the first step. Getting rid of the assholes who don't want to help. That's our priority. If we forced the issues that would heal us, and put in only people that will do what we want, we could solve all these problems with lightning speed.  Unfortunately we not only have to elect people who care, we have to not elect those who don't. And counter their lies and bullshit. Lots of helpful laws were proposed in the last 4 years. And they were filibustered and blocked at every turn.

So I am shaken and disturbed and weeping for the loss we as a country have just suffered and particularly those poor souls who have been directly affected by this terrible crime.

But even though I know lots of people will, I don't want to talk about gun control because it's distracting, and will keep us from doing something we can EASILY do RIGHT NOW! Let's make them end American Poverty, and provide health care both mental and physical to EVERYONE in the country. By the end of next year,I believe these horrific crimes will have been greatly reduced.